"Nigel at Teacraft" > wrote in message
om...
> Traditionally and typically, tea is sold as deriving from a named
> area. This gives the buyer a prime clue as to type, character, and
> expected quality.
>
> I have just noticed a news item that may give consternation to these
> traditionalists:
>
> >>snip>>>
> The Zimbabwean tea company "Tanganda" has announced that it is to
> establish tea plantations in Mozambique as part of its expansion
> plans, reports Friday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias". The
> company's managing director, Andrew Mills, revealed that Tanganda has
> completed feasibility studies, and has decided to establish the
> plantations in Mozambican soil, but the tea will be processed in
> Zimbabwe.
> >>>unsnip>>>>
>
> Will this tea then be classified a Mozambican or a Zimbabwian? Is tea
> from Darjeeling grown leaf, transported by truck to, and processed in
> Assam - a Darjeeling or an Assam? I suspect the Tea Board of India
> would accept neither classification.
>
> And as a quizzical afterthought - how many of the "Senchas" available
> now actually derive from China, processed in Chinese/Japanese joint
> venture built factories processing Japanese bushes growing in China?
> There are apparently at least 80 such factories.
>
> Nigel at Teacraft

Well, consider another food where origin is important - cheese. For
example, in France a cheese may be made outside a name-controlled area, say
Morbier, then shipped to that area to be aged. The manufacturer may label
it as "Morbier", but the label must reveal the real place of origin. The
unwary may buy it as real Morbier, but a careful examination will reveal the
true origin.

I may misunderstand you, but are you implying that there are no
international regulations that control the use of place names with tea, or
is the problem that they are country-specific ? I know that Darjeeling is
name controlled - the problem is that I have to trust my retailer (in my
personal case, 99% of which are online), because I can't physically inspect
the chest to see if the tea sold to me has the official designation. But
then, I'd have the same problem if I bought cheese online.

I guess my conclusion is: as a consumer I need to carefully choose my
vendors, because ultimately I will have to trust them to ask the hard
questions, and label/describe the tea accordingly: "This tea was grown on
the Wazoo estate in Mozambique and processed in Zimbabwe".

Regards,
Dean